An online fundraising campaign has been set up to help the woman involved in the crash on the Malahat last week.
According to the GoFundMe campaign, Kayla-Marie Gibson, 19, was involved in the crash between a fuel truck and a passenger van that closed the Trans-Canada Highway in both directions at Goldstream Provincial Park for roughly 13 hours.
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“Kayla is a bubbly, energetic young woman who now faces a long road to recovery,” said a post on the campaign page, noting the teenager is one of the primary breadwinners for her family.
“She will need multiple surgeries as she has broken her legs, hip, pelvis and has shattered her knees.”
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The crash took place on Thursday, May 24 just before 11 a.m. near Finlayson Arm Road. The driver of the van was trapped inside after the crash, but emergency crews were able to extricate the driver. The driver of the fuel truck, which was carrying up to 2,200 litres of furnace oil at the time, also suffered injuries in the crash.
The crash snarled traffic throughout the Capital Region as hazmat crews worked to clean up the substance that had leaked onto the roadway. The highway was eventually reopened to traffic at 12:40 a.m. on Friday.
The cause of the crash is still under investigation.
The campaign has raised more than $1,600 of its $5,000 goal in the last few days – funds that will be used to help support Gibson and her family during her recovery.
For more information visit gofundme.com/kaylamarie-gibson-malahat-crash.